System and method for processing trip requests

ABSTRACT

A system and method for planning trips and for processing trip requests that utilizes a centralized network for facilitating travel reservations and/or services. The system includes multi-purpose point of service terminals that provide a plurality of modules for various travel related applications such as an integrated e-mail booking module, a computer telephony integration module, a super passenger name record database, a customer database, a trip planning module, a customer relationship management module, a workflow module, and a low fare search module.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.: 60/351,804, entitled “TRAVELNETWORK SYSTEM AND METHOD” and filed on Jan. 25, 2002 and U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No.: 10/217,666, entitled“INTEGRATED TRAVEL INDUSTRY SYSTEM” and filed on Aug. 12, 2002, whichare hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present invention generally relates to the travel industry.More specifically, the present invention relates to an integrated travelindustry system and methods that may be used to process trip requestsindependent of any computer reservation system (CRS).

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

[0003] The last half of the twentieth century, and particularly the lasttwo decades, has been characterized by rapid changes in the travelindustry. One example of the changes is the growth of the airlinebusiness that has resulted in the proliferation of travel agencies andother travel information groups that require access to large volumes ofdata in a “real time” environment. This growth has led to manytechnological advancements in computer reservation systems (CRS), alsoknown as Global Distribution Systems (GDS), for the travel industry (Theterms Global Distribution System (GDS) and Computer Reservation System(CRS) may be used interchangeably herein). The GDS is a computer networkthat provides travel agents and other travel information groups withaccess to travel inventory related to hotel, condominium, rental car,airline and/or the like. Examples of such inventory systems include theSABRE system, Amadeus, Galileo/Apollo, System One, and Worldspan.Traditionally, travel agents use a computer that connects directly to aGDS system, such as SABRE or Apollo.

[0004] Unfortunately, a direct connection between the travel offices andthe GDS typically creates a reliance on the GDS, and the directconnection requirement often results in inefficient processing oftraveler reservations. For example, additional problems have oftenarisen due to the complexity and cost related to maintaining andupdating hardware and software, especially on those systems where thereare multiple GDS networks and desktop standards. In addition, there isoften a lack of connectivity between travel offices that utilizedifferent GDS systems or configurations due to the private autonomousnature of many GDS networks. The autonomous nature of GDS networks leadto further inefficiencies such as the inability to deliver Internetaccess to the travel offices through the same system. Internet access isdesired, as it would allow for the integration of traveler reservationswith Internet fares and/or connections with vendor direct inventory.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, anintegrated travel industry system comprises an integrated travel networkhaving one or more centralized hub sites, at least one GlobalDistribution System connected to each of the hub sites, and at least onepoint of service terminal also connected to one of the hub sites.

[0006] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, thetravel industry system may further comprise a plurality of travelvendors that are connected directly to each of the hub sites of thenetwork.

[0007] In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, thetravel industry system may also include a plurality of modules that arelocated on the point of service terminal. The modules may include anintegrated trip request module, a trip planning module, a computertelephony integration module, a super passenger name record database, acustomer database, a low fare search module, a customer relationshipmanagement module, and a workflow module.

[0008] In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, amethod for processing a trip request having trip information comprisesreceiving the trip request from a traveler, automatically routing thetrip request to a travel counselor, checking for other trip requests forthe traveler, and completing the trip request utilizing the tripinformation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] A more complete understanding of the present invention may bederived by referring to the detailed description when considered inconnection with the Figures, where like reference numbers refer tosimilar elements throughout the Figures, and:

[0010]FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a travel industry systemin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0011]FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a travel industry systemin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0012]FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary network inaccordance with the present invention;

[0013]FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary customerterminal in accordance with the present invention;

[0014]FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary process forhandling a trip request in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0015]FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary formatted trip request form inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016]FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary process forplanning a trip in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0017]FIG. 8A illustrates a diagram of an exemplary user interface for atrip planning module in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0018]FIG. 8B illustrates a diagram of an exemplary user interface for atrip planning module in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0019]FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary display for an air itinerary inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0020]FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary process for aworkflow module in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0021] The present invention provides for an integrated travel industrysystem that includes a travel network that may be provided and managedby a single vendor that is particularly skilled in providing andservicing networks (e.g., AT&T, British Telecom). In this manner, amanaged network can be provided that is monitored, in an exemplaryembodiment, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week thus providing a single orreduced point of contact for outages, and further providing for realtime and historical reporting. In accordance with various aspects of thepresent invention, the travel network may be divided into multiplesub-networks, where each sub-network may be managed by a single vendoror different varying vendors. That is, one sub-network may be managed byAT&T and another sub-network may be managed by British Telecom and thesub-networks may be connected together to form the travel network.

[0022] The present invention may be described herein in terms offunctional block components, screen shots, optional selections andvarious processing steps. It should be appreciated that such functionalblocks may be realized by any number of hardware and/or softwarecomponents configured to perform the specified functions. For example,the present invention may employ various integrated circuit components,e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements, look-uptables, and the like, which may carry out a variety of functions underthe control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices.Similarly, the software elements of the present invention may beimplemented with any programming or scripting language such as C, C++,Java, COBOL, assembler, PERL, extensible markup language (XML), andMicrosoft's Visual Studio .NET, with the various algorithms beingimplemented with any combination of data structures, objects, processes,routines or other programming elements. Further, it should be noted thatthe present invention might employ any number of conventional techniquesfor data transmission, signaling, data processing, network control, andthe like. For a basic introduction of cryptography and network security,the following may be helpful references: (1) “Applied Cryptography:Protocols, Algorithms, And Source Code In C,” by Bruce Schneier,published by John Wiley & Sons (second edition, 1996); (2) “JavaCryptography” by Jonathan Knudson, published by O'Reilly & Associates(1998); (3) “Cryptography & Network Security: Principles & Practice” byWilliam Stalling, published by Prentice Hall; all of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

[0023] It should be appreciated that the particular implementationsshown and described herein are illustrative of the invention and itsbest mode and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of thepresent invention in any way. Indeed, for the sake of brevity,conventional data networking, application development, databaseoperations, and other functional aspects of the system (and componentsof the individual operating components of the systems) and method maynot be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting linesshown in the various figures contained herein are intended to representexemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between thevarious elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additionalfunctional relationships or physical connections may be present in apractical electronic transaction system.

[0024] As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, thepresent invention may be embodied as a method, a data processing system,a device for data processing, and/or a computer program product.Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirelysoftware embodiment, an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodimentcombining aspects of both software and hardware. Furthermore, thepresent invention may take the form of a computer program product on acomputer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program codemeans embodied in the storage medium. Any suitable computer-readablestorage medium may be utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROM, opticalstorage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or the like.

[0025] The present invention is described herein with reference toscreen shots, block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods,apparatus (e.g., systems), and computer program products according tovarious aspects of the invention. It will be understood that eachfunctional block of the block diagrams and the flowchart illustrations,and combinations of functional blocks in the block diagrams andflowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may be loadedonto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions which execute on the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus create means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks.

[0026] These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks.The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

[0027] Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams andflowchart illustrations support combinations of means for performing thespecified functions, combinations of steps for performing the specifiedfunctions, and program instruction means for performing the specifiedfunctions. It will also be understood that each functional block of theblock diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations offunctional blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, canbe implemented by either special purpose hardware-based computer systemswhich perform the specified functions or steps, or suitable combinationsof special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0028] The present systems and methods facilitate the integration ofinformation and services between travel offices and between travelcounselors at the various travel offices. In addition, the systems andmethods facilitate integration with the Internet, Global DistributionSystems (GDS), alternate inventory (e.g., limousine providers), vendordirect systems, and/or other reservation processing technologies (e.g.,document delivery, file finishing, trip planning) that does not fullyrely upon GDS and/or is GDS independent. The terms Global DistributionSystem (GDS) and Computer Reservation System (CRS) will be usedinterchangeably herein. As stated above, the GDS includes any computernetwork that provides travel agents and other travel information groupswith inventory access related to, for example, hotel, condominium,rental car, airlines, and/or the like. As stated above, examples of suchinventory systems include the SABRE system, Amadeus, Galileo/Apollo,System One, and Worldspan.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention presents an integratedsystem 100 which enables multiple entities to access various services(e.g., travel services) in a manner that is independent from aparticular computer system, such as a GDS system. This systemfacilitates technology independence from, or limited dependence on, theGDSs, thereby achieving a network that is business driven, businessresponsive and enabling a company to become the industry leader.

[0030] System 100 may include a host server or other computing systemsincluding a processor for processing digital data, a memory coupled tosaid processor for storing digital data, an input digitizer coupled tothe processor for inputting digital data, an application program storedin said memory and accessible by said processor for directing processingof digital data by said processor, a display coupled to the processorand memory for displaying information derived from digital dataprocessed by said processor and a plurality of databases, said databasesincluding client data, merchant data, financial institution data and/orlike data that could be used in association with the present invention.As those skilled in the art will appreciate, user computer willtypically include an operating system (e.g., Windows NT, 95/98/2000,Linux, Solaris, Windows XP, etc.) as well as various conventionalsupport software and drivers typically associated with computers. Usercomputer can be in a home or business environment with access to anetwork. In an exemplary embodiment, access is through the Internetthrough a commercially-available web-browser software package.

[0031] Communication between users and system 100 of the presentinvention may be accomplished through any suitable communication means,such as, for example, a telephone network, Intranet, Internet, point ofinteraction device (point of sale device, personal digital assistant,cellular phone, kiosk, etc.), online communications, off-linecommunications, wireless communications, and/or the like. One skilled inthe art will also appreciate that, for security reasons, any databases,systems, or components of the present invention may consist of anycombination of databases or components at a single location or atmultiple locations, wherein each database or system includes any ofvarious suitable security features, such as firewalls, access codes,encryption, de-encryption, compression, decompression, and/or the like.

[0032] With continued reference to FIG. 1, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment, travel industry system 100 comprises a travelnetwork 110, one or more GDS systems 120, and one or more multi-usepoint of service (POS) terminals 130 located at travel offices and othersites. POS terminals 130 may include any computer or other Internetdevice including personal computers, workstations, servers, personaldigital assistants (PDAs), and the like. The customer terminals may belocated anywhere in the world and may be connected to travel network 110such that the users of the terminals have access to GDS systems andother features of the system as will be described in detail below.

[0033] Travel network 110 is further configured to provide access to theInternet 140 and to a plurality of travel vendors 150 such as airlinedatabases, car and hotel databases, train and bus databases, frequentflyer systems (e.g., Orbit), and the like. This network enables an openconsistent vehicle for non-GDS communication such as e-mail, Internetand the like, which is, inter alia, less expensive and less complex thanhaving to provide a separate network for non-GDS communications. Itshould be appreciated that providing access to the Internet will givee-mail access to POS terminal users of travel industry system 100.Specific information related to the protocols, standards, andapplication software utilized in connection with the Internet may not bediscussed herein. For further information regarding such details, see,for example, Dilip Naik, Internet Standards and Protocols (1998); Java 2Complete, various authors, (Sybex 1999); Deborah Ray and Eric Ray,Mastering HTML 4.0 (1997). Loshin, TCP/IP Clearly Explained (1997). Allof these texts are hereby incorporated by reference.

[0034] Travel vendor databases may include databases for travel relatedservices such as airlines, car rental, hotel, train, bus, limousines,and any other travel related service. As used in the system of thepresent invention, a database may be any type of database, such asrelational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like. Commondatabase products that may be used to implement the databases includeDB2 by IBM (White Plains, N.Y.), any of the database products availablefrom Oracle Corporation (Redwood Shores, Calif.), Microsoft Access byMicrosoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.), or any other database product.Database may be organized in any suitable manner, including as datatables or lookup tables. Association of certain data may be accomplishedthrough any data association technique known and practiced in the art.For example, the association may be accomplished either manually orautomatically. Automatic association techniques may include, forexample, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, and/orthe like. The association step may be accomplished by a database mergefunction, for example, using a “key field” in each of the manufacturerand retailer data tables. A “key field” partitions the databaseaccording to the high-level class of objects defined by the key field.For example, a certain class may be designated as a key field in boththe first data table and the second data table, and the two data tablesmay then be merged on the basis of the class data in the key field. Inthis embodiment, the data corresponding to the key field in each of themerged data tables is preferably the same. However, data tables havingsimilar, though not identical, data in the key fields may also be mergedby using AGREP, for example.

[0035] With continued reference to FIG. 1, external customers 160 may beconnected directly to network 110, such that the external customers havedirect access to the travel network. In this manner, customers 160 mayaccess various features of the system as described below. In addition,travel products 170 may also be connected directly to network 110.Travel products 170 may include third party travel products such as filefinishing, contract optimization, and robotics processing as is wellknown in the art.

[0036] In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,travel industry system 100 may provide a suitable website or otherInternet-based graphical user interface which is accessible by customers160 and other users of the system. In one embodiment, the InternetInformation Server, Microsoft Transaction Server, and Microsoft SQLServer, are used in conjunction with the Microsoft operating system,Microsoft NT web server software, a Microsoft SQL database system, and aMicrosoft Commerce Server. Additionally, components such as AccessSequel Server, Oracle, MySQL, Intervase, etc., may be used to provide anADO-compliant database management system. The term “webpage” as it isused herein is not meant to limit the type of documents and applicationsthat might be used to interact with the user. For example, a typicalwebsite might include, in addition to standard HTML documents, variousforms, Java applets, Javascript, active server pages (ASP), commongateway interface scripts (CGI), extensible markup language (XML),dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS), helper applications,plug-ins, and the like.

[0037] With reference to FIG. 2, in an exemplary embodiment, variouscomponents of travel industry system 100 are connected to network 110such that a centralized connection to network 110 is obtained. Forexample, GDS systems 120, travel vendors 150, and multi-use terminals130 at travel offices 200 and other sites may be centrally connected tonetwork 110 such that users of the multi-use terminals have access tovarious components of system 100 such as GDS systems 120 and travelvendor databases 150. As used herein, “connected” may include anysoftware and/or hardware for communicating or transmitting data.

[0038] Referring now to FIG. 3, travel network 110, in an exemplaryembodiment, comprises a frame relay network having one or more hub sites300 that are used to connect travel offices and other users from aroundthe world. As is well known in the art, frame relay networks are a typeof network that is used to transport data from location to locationusing connections, such as network components 310, which may comprise arouter or equivalent network device. For example, as illustrated in FIG.3, there may be travel offices 310 in New York, Phoenix, Los Angeles,Rome, London, and Paris. Travel network 110 provides an integratednetwork such that any travel office in any city can communicate with anyother travel office in any city which will allow for more efficientcommunication and distribution of information. In another example, memosand other information can now be distributed electronically utilizingtravel network 110, thus saving time and money compared to previoussystems where a travel office could not communicate electronically withanother travel office that was utilizing a different GDS system. It willbe appreciated that these locations 300 are for exemplary purposes only,and that the present invention is not limited to these locations.

[0039] Travel network 110 may use an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)backbone and multiple redundant data centers. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 3, network 110 may include two hub sites 300 thatprovide for data redundancy as will be described. Alternatively, network110 may comprise one hub site or network 110 may comprise more than twohub sites. Data and connectivity redundancy is provided for when two ormore hub sites 300 exist. Alternatively, travel network 110 may compriseany other suitable network that provides similar functionality to aframe relay network.

[0040] Hub sites 300 may be connected to each other by networkconnection 320. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention,network connection 320 may comprise an ATM backbone. Alternatively,network connection 320 may comprise a different type of networkconnection such as a T1 connection.

[0041] In an exemplary embodiment, one or more GDSs 120 are connected tonetwork 110 at each of the hub sites 300. By connecting GDS 120 to thenetwork at hub sites 300, the system provides for a centralized point ofcontact with all GDSs, as opposed to maintaining separate networks foreach GDS. If one of the hub sites is disabled or connectivity to one ofthe hub sites is otherwise lost, then GDS 120 will still be accessiblethrough one of the other hub sites 300.

[0042] Travel vendors 150 may also be connected to network 110 at eachof the hub sites 300, thus providing redundant connectivity points forthe travel vendors. By centralizing the connection to travel vendors150, the system of the present invention allows a company to negotiatedirectly with air, car rental, hotel vendors, and the like, based ondirect connections and fulfillment options, wherein connection is notlimited only through GDS hosts. Direct connections to various vendors(e.g., air, car rental, hotel, rail, limousines, cruise lines,conference centers, ferries) make it possible for travelers to have abroader range of travel service choices. The present invention alsoallows alternative supply and distribution channels for products andservices which may be provided by plugging a vendor directly intonetwork 110. Alternatively, travel vendors 150 may be accessed via theInternet as described below.

[0043] Adding or removing GDS or travel vendor databases from the systemis accomplished by adding or removing connections to the GDS and/ortravel vendor database at hub sites 300. In this manner, it is notnecessary to add or remove hardware equipment or software applicationsat the individual travel office. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, a central connection to all GDS and travel vendors exists.The system may communicate with the various GDS and travel vendorsthrough a centralized component, such as a translation server. Thetranslation server may communicate natively with the various GDS andtravel vendor systems by utilizing an application programming interface(API) supplied by the GDS/travel vendor. Alternatively, the translationserver may communicate with the various GDS and travel vendor systems byutilizing an industry accepted standard such as the Open Travel Alliance(OTA) standard. The translation server may communicate with the rest ofthe travel industry system 100 by using any standard communicationprotocol such as the extensible markup language (XML). Clients of thesystem can change or add GDS vendors without the need to add or replacehardware. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, thesystem includes minimal or no GDS-supplied hardware and allows a companyto respond to technology or product improvements with minimal or no GDSapproval thus providing for a host independent of individual GDSs.

[0044] The system will also allow for load leveling with GDSs to meetminimum contractual transaction amounts. For example, the particular GDSaccessed by the travel counselor can be manipulated such that traveltransactions can be moved around from GDS to GDS in order to meetminimum transaction amounts. This can be accomplished by changing theGDS accessed by the travel counselor (this is transparent to the travelcounselor). In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,a configuration item may be used that identifies the specific GDS thatis to be accessed by the travel counselor. This configuration item maybe stored in a configuration file or other similar storage location andaccessed by the system as necessary.

[0045] In addition, if a new travel office is to be deployed, the traveloffice needs only to be connected to network 110 as will be describednext. This allows for a short time to market for a new travel office.Each travel office may have one or more terminals 130 that provide useraccess to the system 100 through network component 310. In accordancewith one aspect of the present invention, network components 310 areconnected to hub sites 300 by network connections 330. Networkconnection 300 may be any type of suitable network connection such asT1, ATM, ISDN, and/or the like. Terminals 130 may have access to thevarious GDSs and travel vendor databases through hub sites 300. Themulti-use terminals 130 may be used to provide a single source foraccessing multiple GDSs and travel vendor databases for users (travelcounselors). These multi-use terminals provide travel counselors with anew user-friendly, browser based Point of Service tool (a.k.a. CustomerInformation Gateway) that can be used for servicing customers asdescribed in detail below. Travel counselors will only need to betrained on a single computer user interface/software application inorder to be able to access a plurality of GDSs and travel vendordatabases. Stated another way, multi-use terminal 130 will be operatedthe same or substantially the same way, no matter which GDS is accessed.In this manner, the terminals 130 of the system provide for auser-friendly operation (travel counselors will need little or no GDSformat skills) and a customer focused reservation process with minimalor no restrictions by GDS limitations.

[0046] If one of the hub sites is disabled, terminal 130 may beautomatically connected to another hub site 300 that is active vianetwork connections 330 and 320, thus providing continuous networkconnection for the travel office and their customer terminals.

[0047] It will be appreciated that many applications of the presentinvention could be formulated. One skilled in the art will appreciatethat network 110 may interface with any system for exchanging data ortransacting business, such as the Internet, an intranet, an extranet,WAN, LAN, satellite communications, and/or the like. The users mayinteract with the system via any input device such as a keyboard, mouse,kiosk, personal digital assistant, handheld computer (e.g., PalmPilot®), cellular phone and/or the like. Similarly, the invention couldbe used in conjunction with any type of personal computer, networkcomputer, workstation, minicomputer, mainframe, or the like running anyoperating system such as any version of Windows, Windows NT,Windows2000, Windows 98, Windows 95, MacOS, OS/2, BeOS, Linux, UNIX,Solaris, Windows XP, or the like. Moreover, although the invention isfrequently described herein as being implemented with TCP/IPcommunications protocols, it will be readily understood that theinvention could also be implemented using IPX, Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS,OSI or any number of existing or future protocols. Moreover, the systemcontemplates the use, sale or distribution of any goods, services orinformation over any network having similar functionality describedherein.

[0048] Referring now to FIG. 4, point of service (POS) terminal 130provides for a travel counselor browser based point of serviceapplication that is GDS independent. It should be appreciated that thisstreamlines the reservation process and provides for greater operationalefficiencies and higher levels of customer service. POS terminal 130comprises, in an exemplary embodiment, an integrated trip request module400, a trip planning module 410, a super passenger name record (PNR)module 420, a customer data module 430, a computer telephony integrationmodule 440, a customer relationship management (CRM) module 450, aworkflow module 460, and a low fare search module 470. These modules canbe implemented with software and hardware components as described indetail next.

[0049] Integrated trip request module 400 includes software and/orhardware that may be used to process a trip request from a traveler. Thetrip request may include travel information that relates to therequirements for the trip. For example, the travel information mayinclude the starting point and destination (or destinations) for thetrip, dates of travel, preferred time of day for departure and arrival,mode of travel (e.g., air, train, bus, rental car, boat, and the like),hotel requirements (e.g., size of room, smoking/non-smoking, pricerange, location, etc.), rental car and/or limousine requirements (e.g.,size, type, smoking/non-smoking, etc.), and the like. It will beappreciated that the travel information may vary from one trip requestto another, as for example, a rental car may be required for one trip,but not required for another trip. As another example, one trip mayrequire a same day departure and return, and thus no hotel is needed.

[0050] With reference to FIG. 5, an exemplary process 500 using triprequest module 400 is illustrated for processing a trip request that isreceived from a traveler. The trip request may be received from thetraveler (step 510) in various manners. In accordance with one aspect ofthe present invention, the traveler, or a representative for thetraveler (e.g., assistant, secretary, co-worker, employee, travelcoordinator, relative, friend, and the like) may access a formatted triprequest form that is located on a web site associated with travelindustry system 100. In accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention, the traveler may have to register with the web site beforeaccessing the formatted trip request form. Alternatively, the formattedtrip request form may be accessed via a software application (e.g., ane-mail software application such as Microsoft Outlook) and once the formor e-mail template is completed, the travel request may be sent by thesoftware application via e-mail to system 100.

[0051] With momentary reference to FIG. 6, an exemplary formatted triprequest form 600 is illustrated that contains various fields forentering travel information for the trip request. Using an internetbrowser (e.g., Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator) or asoftware application (e.g., Microsoft Outlook), the traveler or thetraveler's representative may access the formatted trip request form,fill out the form by providing various travel information as necessary,and then e-mail or otherwise submit (using, for example, submit button610 of formatted trip request form 600) the trip request form to system100. It will be appreciated that the user/traveler only needs aweb-browser in order to make a trip request or to modify an existingtrip request. For example, the traveler may be able to use a web kioskat an airport to make a trip request. Alternatively, the traveler may bevisiting a relative or at another location where they have access to acomputer with Internet access that may or may not belong to thetraveler. However, as long as the traveler can access the Internet theywill be able to make a trip request or submit a trip request thatmodifies or overrides a previous trip request. In accordance with oneaspect of the present invention, the trip request form may be e-mailedto a pre-existing identified e-mail account. For example, submitting thetrip request form by using submit button 610 and the like, may result inthe trip request form being e-mailed to a pre-existing identified e-mailaccount. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,there may be a different e-mail account for each travel client orcompany (e.g., the company that employs the traveler). Alternatively,there may be different e-mail accounts for departments or divisionswithin a company such that the trip requests may be processed moreefficiently by travel counselors familiar with the travelers andrequirements associated with a particular division as will be describedin more detail below.

[0052] Trip request module 400 may receive the trip request (step 510)from the traveler by monitoring the various pre-existing e-mailaccounts. For example, module 400 may monitor the pre-existing e-mailaccounts for new e-mails from travelers that indicate a new or modifiedtrip request has been received. Once a trip request is received, module400 may present the trip request to a POS terminal 130. In accordancewith another aspect of the present invention, module 400 may present thetrip request to the next available POS terminal. Stated another way,similar to routing telephone calls to the next available customerservice representative, module 400 may route the trip request to thenext available or skilled travel counselor (step 520). Module 400 mayroute the trip request to a travel counselor who is available and/or whohas the proper skills to handle the trip request. For example, onlycertain travel counselors may be trained to handle trip requests for aparticular company. Module 400 may extract the trip information from thetrip request and use the trip information to populate a screen pop thatis used to present the trip request to the travel counselor via theircomputer terminal 130. A travel counselor, utilizing terminal 130, maythen view the trip information in the screen pop and check the system tosee if there are other trip requests pending for the traveler (step530). The travel counselor may then process the trip request, andoptionally other trip requests that are pending for the same traveler,using trip planning module 410 (step 540). In addition, the travelcounselor may verify that there are no conflicts between the varioustrip requests for the traveler. This trip request module greatly reducesthe time it takes the traveler and the travel agency to process areservation. Once the trip request is processed as described inconnection with the trip planning module 410 below, the travel counselormay set a status for the trip request (step 550) that indicates that thetrip request was processed, or if unable to process the trip request,the status may indicate that an error occurred (e.g., no flightsavailable) while processing the trip request. The status may be used bysystem 100 to monitor travel counselor for their availability,efficiency, and the like.

[0053] In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention, the trip request may be processed automatically withoutmanual or travel counselor intervention. For example, instead of routingthe trip request to a travel counselor (see step 520 above), module 400may extract the trip information from the trip request form and processthe trip request using trip planning module 410 as described below. Inthis manner, the trip request may be processed without the need forhuman intervention. A switch setting, such as a value read from aconfiguration file, may be used to indicate whether manual or automaticprocessing of trip requests should take place.

[0054] In accordance with another alternative embodiment of the presentinvention, the traveler may submit a trip request by an unformattede-mail message that may be generated by the traveler using an e-mailclient (e.g., Microsoft Outlook). The unformatted e-mail message may bereceived by module 400 and presented to a travel counselor via a screenpop. The travel counselor may then proceed to process the trip requestusing trip planning module 410.

[0055] Trip planning module 410 comprises a software application thatmay be used to plan trips for travelers by providing for any type ofreservation that may be required. For example, trip planning module 410may prompt for details on the trip such as destination and dates oftravel. The destination may be provided in a variety of forms includingairport, destination city, exact address, and the like. Trip planningmodule 410 will then apply logic to the request using the travelpolicies (e.g., travel policies of the traveler's employer), preferredvendor booking preferences, and/or other customer profile information tobuild an optimal option for the trip that includes the travelreservations best suited for the traveler. If the travel counselor wantsto change a specific reservation for a trip such as an airlinereservation, then this may also be accomplished using trip planningmodule 410. Alternatively, trip planning module may be used to plantrips by separately making airline reservations, hotel reservations, carrental reservations, airport limousine reservations, and any other typeof reservations that may be required.

[0056] With reference to FIG. 7, an exemplary process 700 using tripplanning module 410 is illustrated for planning a trip in response to atrip request that is received from a traveler. The trip request may bereceived from the traveler (step 710) in various manners as describedabove in connection with trip request module 400 and a screen pop may beautomatically populated with the trip information for the trip request(step 720). The traveler counselor may use trip planning module 410 tosearch for an air itinerary that matches the trip request (step 730).For example, with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B, an exemplary userinterface 800 for the trip planning module is illustrated. In accordancewith one aspect of the present invention, the travel counselor may useone click of button 860 to request a search for air (or other mode oftravel such as train, bus, boat, and/or the like), car, limousine, andhotel itineraries using all of the traveler's preferences and policies,and with the negotiated rates and fares applied. Buttons 820, 830, 840,and 850 may be used to perform a search for the air itinerary, a caritinerary (step 740), a limousine itinerary (step 750), and a hotelitinerary (step 760) for the trip where the results of the search aredisplayed in a weighted hierarchy (FIG. 9). In addition, the low faresearch module 470 may be used to search for the lowest fares as will bedescribed in detail below.

[0057] The various options for the different itineraries may bedisplayed using a weighted hierarchy that is based on various criteriasuch as, for example, the traveler's company policy, contracts,preferences and weightings. Information from the company policy may beentered manually and may include traditional policies such as firstclass restrictions, flight windows and the like. In addition, thecompany policy may include information on certain vedors/supplies thatare not allowed to be used. Negotiations contracts with various air,hotel, rental car, and limousine vendors may be entered automaticallyvia the customer data module 430 as described below. These automaticfeeds may take place nightly or at any other scheduled interval.Customer (i.e., the traveler or the traveler's company) preferences maybe loaded manually. Preferences may include information onvendors/suppliers that are preferred or non-preferred. However, if anon-preferred vendor is selected by the traveler, this should not resultin an out of policy violation. Weightings is information that allows thetraveler or traveler's company to specify how various vendors/suppliersshould be sorted/displayed on the traveler counselor's computerterminal. The weighting applied to various criteria directly influenceshow the various vendors/suppliers are ordered on the travelercounselor's terminal. For example, if cost is an important criteria to atraveler/company, then that traveler would weight price higher thanother criteria. Examples of criteria that may have weightings includeprice, travel distance, travel time, travel duration, enterprise serviceprovider (ESP) vendor, and preferred vendor. With reference to FIG. 9,an exemplary display 900 using a weighted hierarchy for an air itineraryis illustrated. In addition, other policies such as the traveler'spreference, cost, negotiated vendor rates, and the like, may also beused to determine the display hierarchy for the various itineraries. Itwill be appreciated that this will result in an optimized travelitinerary for the trip request and will allow the travel counselor tooffer the optimized travel itinerary as a first choice to the traveler.In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the travelercounselor may perform one click or selection of button 870 to accept theproposed optimized travel itinerary. The proposed itinerary will then bebooked with the selected vendors for air, car, hotel and/or limousineservices. The travel counselor may use the trip planning module torepeat the process for a plurality of trips.

[0058] Super passenger name record (PNR) module 420 comprises a databasesystem that stores travel reservation information. The database systemmay be implemented with any of a variety of well known databasestandards such as Oracle, Sybase, and the like. The stored travelreservation information includes information for a particular tripreservation such as specific flight reservation information, hotelreservations, car rental information, and the like. In addition, PNRmodule 420 may be used to store information for a passenger's contacthistory with a travel office. For example, the names of travelcounselors who assisted the passenger may be stored in PNR module 420.The PNR module may also be used to store fulfillment information thatindicates which tickets were issued to the passenger and how much thepassenger has been charged for the various reservations. It should beappreciated that storing the travel reservation details outside the GDSpromotes data privacy and confidentiality. In addition, the super PNRmodule provides for consolidated storage of itineraries booked throughmultiple or direct vendors.

[0059] Customer data module 430 comprises a web enabled database systemthat allows travelers to access and update their traveler profiles overthe Internet. In this manner, a user friendly and efficient technique isprovided to travelers such that travelers can add additional preferencesand the like to their travel profiles. The system provides for fullintegration of customer policy, profile, negotiated contracts,past/current trip information, and customer relationship management(CRM) data. Information stored in the customer data module databaseincludes customer policies, for example, the corporate travel policiesof a particular corporation which contains policies that employees arerequired to follow. For example, the corporate travel policies mayprevent an employee from purchasing a first class airline fare or mayrequire an employee to utilize certain car rental vendors. The customerdata module database may also include the customer's negotiatedcontracts with various vendors (i.e., airlines, car rental agencies,hotels, and the like). The database may also include personalpreferences for individuals such as seat preferences (aisle or window)and frequent flyer information. Unused ticket information may also bestored in the customer data module database so that it may be utilizedby the low fare module as described above.

[0060] Customer data module 430 also provides the ability to acceptcustomer HR feeds and data feeds to and from other products used by thetraveler such as Corporate Travel Online (CTO), GetThere, and the like.An off-the-shelf tool may used for accepting customer HR feeds and datafeeds. An example of such an off-the-shelf too is an EnterpriseApplication Integration (EAI) tool that is known in the art. Inaddition, customer data module 430 may be implemented such that usefulreporting features are provided for the traveler. The travel profilesmodule may be implemented by using any of a variety of programminglanguages and techniques that are well known in the art and the databasesystem may be implemented with any of a variety of well known databasestandards such as Oracle, Sybase, and the like.

[0061] Using the customer data module, customers can see their owninformation and update their own profiles via the Internet. For example,customers can access the customer data module by utilizing a standardInternet browser to access a web site available via the Internet. Thecustomer then logs onto the customer data module using their secureusername and password and thereby gain access to the functionality ofthe customer data module. In this manner, customers can create andupdate customer personal profiles. Different individuals may be givendifferent access levels to the customer data module. For example, thetravel administrators for a corporation may have global access so thatthey can modify the corporate travel policies for their corporation,while individual employees may have limited access such that they canonly access and modify their individual profile.

[0062] Computer telephony integration module 440 allows for voiceinformation (e.g., phone call) and data (e.g., traveler profile) to beconverged at the travel counselor's desktop (i.e., POS terminal). Module440 integrates off the shelf computer telephony interface (CTI)technology in order to provide voice-over-IP solutions, convergence ofvoice and data to the desktop (screen pop), and improved features forcustomer access and identification. In addition, computer telephonyintegration module 440 provides for the routing of e-mail, Internet, andother information to the travel counselor's desktop (i.e., mediablending) 130 such as information from wireless devices (e.g., personaldigital assistants), bookings, and customer questions and requests. Whena customer (i.e., traveler) places a call to a call center (i.e., traveloffice), the customer will be prompted to entire a unique number orname, such as a personal identification number, that has been assignedto the customer. When a travel counselor answers the phone, all of theinformation for the customer will be displayed (referred to as a “screenpop”) on the computer. Customer e-mails to the travel office can berouted to travel counselors in a similar manner that phone calls arerouted. That is, the e-mails can be routed to next available agent or toan agent with a particular expertise. Using voice-over-IP (InternetProtocol) technology, phone calls into the call center can bedistributed over the Internet to remote locations. For example, thiswill allow call center agents to receive calls at home or at otherremote locations accessible by the Internet. In addition, built-inmonitors may provide detailed reporting on calls to management. Thisdetailed reporting can include information such as average time percall, number of calls per agent, and the like.

[0063] A customer relationship management (CRM) module 450 may includean off-the-shelf CRM system such as Oracle, Siebel, and other databases.CRM module 450 may be used to capture and store information abouttraveler and corporations' travel patterns, special interest, customerservice inquiries/issues, profile information, frequent travelinformation, destination information, and specific requested data. Thiscaptured information may then be used to analyze and predict futuretravel spending.

[0064] Workflow module 460 comprises software that may be used forworkflow and queue management. Since the point of service (POS) terminal130 provides for a travel counselor browser based point of serviceapplication that is GDS independent, it is desired to have GDSindependent workflow and queue management processing for the travelcounselor. When the travel counselor completes a reservation and queuesit for processing, the queued information may be extracted from the GDSqueue and converted to text and routed to the first availableagent/counselor for working.

[0065] With reference to FIG. 10, an exemplary process 1000 usingworkflow module 460 is illustrated for performing workflow and queuemanagement for a plurality of travel counselors. Workflow module 460 mayscan a queue (step 1010), such as a GDS queue, for messages or recordsthat require further processing. In accordance with one aspect of thepresent invention, workflow module 460 may scan the queue at specifiedintervals. Examples of messages that may require further processinginclude trip requests, future ticketing, schedule changes, request forspecial services vendor confirmations, as well as other travel relatedoperational processes. If there are messages in the queue that do notrequire further processing, then workflow module 460 may remove thosemessages (step 1020). In accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention, a configuration file may be used to indicate which messagesrequire further processing. For example, for a particular message type,there may be a configuration item that indicates how to handle themessage type such as: “Ignore it”, or put a header on the message andsend as an e-mail message, and the like. There may be separateconfiguration entries for each company, or even for each traveler. Anexample of a message that might require further processing is when thereis a schedule change to a flight segment and information for theschedule change is put into the queue. Another example is when there isa problem booking a reservation, then the reservation will be kickedback out to the queue for further processing.

[0066] When workflow module 460 identifies one or more messages thatrequire further processing, workflow module 460 may convert each of theidentified queue messages into a highly structured e-mail message (step1030) with passenger/customer information and the operation thatrequires further processing. The structured e-mail message may then beforwarded (step 1050) to a designated queue for processing by the nextavailable agent skilled for that type of operation. Workflow module 460may match the structured e-mail message to a designated queue usingskill based routing rules (step 1040) and then forward the e-mailmessage or formatted trip request to the matched queue for the nextavailable agent to process.

[0067] Low fare search module 470 comprises a dynamic low fare searchengine that can search fares from various sources including theInternet, direct connect vendors, proprietary databases (i.e., databaseof fares that is provided by a company affiliated with the POSterminal's travel office), GDS fares, Airline Tariff Publishing Company(ATPCO) system fares, company private or negotiated fares, and/or thelike. By providing access to the Internet, Internet fares can beintegrated into the low fare search and provided to the user forcomparison for fares from other sources such as GDS and directconnection to travel vendor databases. Thus, system users can search dotcom, direct connect, corporate and GDS fares. For example, a “web-bot”application can be used to search various airline websites on theInternet. In addition, the low fare search module can utilize unusedticket information when calculating the fare displays. The unused ticketinformation may be stored and tracked in customer data module 430 or ina similar database system. The unused ticket information may be obtainedand analyzed in accordance with the systems and methods disclosed inpatent application Ser. No. 09/346,085 filed Jul. 1, 1999; which ishereby incorporated by reference. The low fare search module may beimplemented by a software application using any of a variety ofprogramming languages and techniques that are well known in the art.

[0068] In the foregoing specification, the invention has been describedwith reference to specific embodiments. However, it will be appreciatedthat various modifications and changes can be made without departingfrom the scope of the present invention. The specification and figuresare to be regarded in an illustrative manner, rather than a restrictiveone, and all such modifications are intended to be included within thescope of present invention. For example, the steps recited in any of themethod or process claims may be executed in any order and are notlimited to the order presented.

[0069] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed above with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that maycause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of any or all the claims. As used herein, the terms“comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variation thereof, are intendedto cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method,article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not includeonly those elements but may include other elements not expressly listedor inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, noelement described herein is required for the practice of the inventionunless expressly described as “essential” or“critical”.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for processing a trip request havingtrip information, comprising the steps of: receiving the trip requestfrom a traveler; automatically routing the trip request to a travelcounselor; checking for other trip requests for the traveler; andcompleting the trip request utilizing the trip information.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of routing comprises routing thetrip request to an available travel counselor.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the step of routing comprises routing the trip request to askilled travel counselor.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprisingthe step of monitoring a pre-specified location for the trip request .5. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting the trip requestto a POS terminal via a screen pop.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising the step of populating the screen pop with the tripinformation.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step ofsetting, by the travel counselor, a status of the trip request.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, further comprising the step of checking the status ofthe trip request.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the stepof viewing a plurality of trip requests for a plurality of travelers.10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of filling out atrip request form with the trip information.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the step of filling out comprises utilizing a formatted triprequest form to provide the trip information; and further comprising thestep of submitting the formatted trip request form via an Internet. 12.The method of claim 10, wherein the step of filling out comprisesutilizing an email template to fill out the trip request form with thetrip information; and further comprising the step of submitting theemail template via an email.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein thestep of filling out comprises utilizing an unformatted message to fillout the trip request form with the trip information; and furthercomprising the step of submitting the unformatted message via an email.14. A method of identifying a traveler in a trip request, comprising thesteps of: receiving the trip request with traveler information;displaying the traveler information in a screen pop; collecting callerinformation from a caller; and comparing the traveler information to thecaller information.
 15. The method according to claim 14, furthercomprising the step of populating a traveler notes box.
 16. A method ofplanning a trip for a traveler, comprising the steps of: a) receiving atrip request with trip information for the trip; b) populating a screenpop with the trip information; c) searching for an air itinerary for thetrip; d) displaying a plurality of air travel options for the airitinerary, wherein the plurality of options are displayed in a firstweighted hierarchy based on a policy; e) optionally, searching for a caritinerary for the trip and displaying a plurality of car options for thecar itinerary, wherein the plurality of car options are displayed in asecond weighted hierarchy based on the policy; f) optionally, searchingfor a limousine itinerary for the trip and displaying a plurality oflimousine options for the limousine itinerary, wherein the plurality oflimousine options are displayed in a third weighted hierarchy based onthe policy; and g) optionally, searching for a hotel itinerary for thetrip and displaying a plurality of hotel options for the hotelitinerary, wherein the plurality of hotel options are displayed in afourth weighted hierarchy based on the policy.
 17. The method accordingto claim 16, wherein in the step of displaying a plurality of air traveloptions, the policy comprises a company policy for the traveler.
 18. Themethod according to claim 16, wherein steps (a)-(g) are repeated for aplurality of trips.
 19. The method according to claim 16, wherein thesteps of searching for an air itinerary, searching for a car itinerary,searching for a limousine itinerary, and searching for a hotelitinerary, are performed by clicking once on a button of a userinterface for a software application.
 20. A method of routing a triprequest for a trip, comprising the steps of: scanning a queue containinga plurality of messages; identifying a message that contains the triprequest; converting the identified message into a formatted triprequest; forwarding the formatted trip request to a designated queue forthe next available agent to process; and processing, by the nextavailable agent, the trip request from the formatted message.
 21. Themethod according to claim 20, further comprising the step of deleting arecord that does not contains the trip request.
 22. The method accordingto claim 20, wherein the step of forwarding the formatted trip requestcomprises: matching the formatted trip request to a designated queueusing skill based routing rules; and forwarding the formatted triprequest to the matched queue for the next available agent to process.23. A computer program product comprising: a computer readable mediumhaving computer readable program code embodied therein that handlesprocessing a trip request having trip information, the computer programproduct comprising: computer readable program code configured to cause acomputer to receive the trip request from a traveler; computer readableprogram code configured to cause a computer to automatically route thetrip request to an available travel counselor; computer readable programcode configured to cause a computer to check for other trip requests forthe traveler; and computer readable program code configured to cause acomputer to complete the trip request utilizing the trip information.